[introImage id=151275 caption=”Source: Instagram @djcriticalhype”]
DJ Critical Hype’s latest project, The Damn. Chronic is getting some major buzz right now. The project, released on April 3 through Audiomack.com, is a compilation of mash-ups that feature verses by Kendrick and beats by Dre (actually though, not his headphones). Illustrator Ian Klarer, widely known for his Run The Jewels artwork, created the back and cover artwork for the tape. Check it out below.
Despite the name of the project, the beats and verses aren’t exclusively from Kendrick’s DAMN. and Dre’s The Chronic. For instance, the first track off the 23-track project, “My Name Is”, consists of the instrumental from Eminem’s “My Name Is” and Kendrick’s vocals off his early track “Kendrick Lamar”.
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Although The Damn. Chronic is quickly becoming one of his most well-received projects, DJ Critical Hype is no stranger to blend tapes. His last mash-up project, titled Chance The Dropout, was released two years ago alongside DJ Clyde. Chance The Dropout used Chance’s vocals over Kanye’s production to create an 23-track blend tape.
“The Chance and Kanye tape has a lot of parallels to the Kendrick and Dr. Dre one, so it made sense for my follow up,” he told Pigeons & Planes in an interview. “Both pairs come from the same city and were big influences to their younger counterparts early in their careers.” Here’s more of DJ Critical Hype’s interview:
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“Kendrick has so many flows, voices, and styles, plus Dre beats are really incredible, so I figured it would be dope… I was determined to make it work, but the truth is it wasn’t easy. A lot of the tempos actually didn’t mix well. It was a lot more work trying to find good mixes. I had to dig deep and make a capellas for about 60 to 70 Kendrick songs and try and find stuff I was happy with. I really wanted to mix ‘Look Out For Detox’ and ‘Money Trees,’ as well as a lot of album cuts off the DAMN. album. The problem is Dre doesn’t have many slower beats. I’m really happy with the results, though. All the hard work and dedication to this project paid off.”
Aside from his last two blend tapes, DJ Critical Hype has a series of blend tapes you can find on Audiomack and Datpiff.com that feature sounds from artists such as Talib Kweli and Danny Brown. You can listen to The Damn. Chronic below. Let us know what you think of it in the comments below, and be sure to SHARE this article!
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